The Art of Deception
by HolaitsCiara
Summary: AU: After being released from his four-year sentence in prison, Zachary Goode is itching for a new adventure. With a crew assembled, he targets a painting worth millions of dollars. But what happens when he's not the only one after the painting? Rated T for language.
1. Prologue

**AN: Hi! **

**Here's a new story, I hope you like it! **

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><p><strong>Summary: <strong>AU: After being released from his four-year sentence in prison, Zachary Goode is itching for a new adventure. With a crew assembled, he targets a painting worth forty-million dollars. But what happens when he's not the only one after the painting? OOC. Inspired by: White Collar.

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><p><strong>Zachary Goode<strong>

Cocky, smart, handsome, and charming, are some of the words that can be used to describe Zachary Goode. After being released from his four-year sentence in prison, Zach is itching for a new adventure. And with the help of his friends, he may get just that, and maybe a little more.

**Jonas Kim **

Who would've thought that innocent Jonas was con-man? Or that he's been arrested more than once. As the brains of the group, perhaps the greatest con Jonas has ever pulled was making everyone believe Jonas Kim was his real identity.

**Grant Newman **

Living up to his name, Grant is indeed a new man. Rising from the ashes of his previous identity, Grant is back and ready for a challenge. With his good looks and impeccable charm, Grant joins world-class con-artist, Zachary Goode, in a heist worth remembering.

**Elizabeth Sutton**

One half of the Sutton Twins, Liz is the genius of the two. With her soft, southern voice no one ever expected Liz to be one of America's most successful con-artists. But after the alleged death of her twin, Liz decided to quit the life of a criminal. That was until she found out her twin was alive.

**Tina Walters**

Born into the life of a con-artist, Tina Walters has done it all. From impersonating an English Duchess to forging the Mona Lisa. After conning her way into an elite social group, Tina thought her life as an art forger was over. Boy was she wrong...

**Rebecca Baxter**

A con-artist who had the misfortune of getting on a mob's bad side, Bex Baxter is on the run. With her wits, looks, and skills, you can't go wrong with choosing Bex as a partner-in-crime. But what happens when self-preservation gets in the way of loyalty?

**Macey McHenry**

As a daughter of an heiress and a senator, you would've thought that Macey McHenry would have it all. With her looks, attitude, and money, the only thing Macey is missing is some fun in her life. This rebellious heiress joins the heist with open arms.

**Cameron Morgan**

A true talent with the brush, Cammie's works have been sold all over the world. She was pulled into the heist when rivalry comes to surface. She purposely tries to ruin the heist but in the end, she's the one left conflicted. After all, there's a thin line between love and hate.

**Kim Lee**

The day Kim Lee met Zachary Goode, was the day Kim Lee made the mistake of conning a con-artist. Learning from her previous mistakes, Kim is living the life. But what happens when a familiar face comes back and promises to make things worth her while?

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><p><strong>Tell me what you think! <strong>

**-Ciara**


	2. Chapter 1

Location: Red Onion State Prison

Wise County, Virginia 

Date: Saturday, July 2nd 

Zachary Goode

Zach stepped out into the bright sunlight, squinting in the process. After four years of being locked up, he was finally out. In his hands he held some of the few things he got his hands on while he was locked up. A pamphlet for The Metropolitan Museum of Art and a small stack of letters.

"Get out of here Goode," a guard said from behind him.

Zach ignored him, walking away from the gates of hell he liked to call prison. He searched for a form of transportation, his eyes landing on a gray truck parked at the prison lot. He smirked. He just got out of prison, and already he was back at his previous game: hot wiring a truck.

He started the truck and drove to the one place he was sure he'll find a familiar face.

Location: Gallagher Academy

Roseville, Virginia

Date: Saturday, July 2nd 

Zachary Goode

Zach arrived at a mansion with a wrought-iron gate, ivy coloured walls, and freshly manicured grounds. It was the Gallagher Academy. The Gallagher Academy is prestigious school for bored heiresses. A school in which Joseph Solomon taught at. Zach entered the school without much trouble. He turned on the charm, flashed a few smirks here and there, and threw in a couple of winks. And just like that, he was in.

The school was still as Zach remembered it. Beautiful. It had smooth mahogany banisters, hardwood flooring, and a grand staircase, giving the school a more sophisticated feel. The school held the faint scent of roast beef, which was understandable considering it was almost dinner.

Zach sighed and walked up the grand staircase and towards Joe Solomon's room.

He knocked on the wooden door and stood back, waiting for a response. The door opened a moment later, revealing Joe Solomon dressed in a dress shirt, with a sweater vest over it, and dress pants.

Zach wanted to laugh, though he fought the urge to. He had never seen Solomon—out of all people—dress in something so formal! The Solomon he remembered hated formal clothing and chose to wear a more casual outfit. In fact, Zach remembered his former mentor as a more badass person, with a leather jacket and all.

"Not one word," Joe said, referring to his current attire. He opened the door wider, welcoming Zach in.

The room was bigger than Zach remembered. (Zach assumed they renovated or something). It had large wooden desks forming a semi-circle around the front of the class. The desks were also in-synch with the stair steps, creating sort-of look that reminded Zach of an amphitheatre. The room smelt of books, which were lined across the wall, and the sweet aroma of coffee.

"I'm impressed, Joe," Zach said appreciatively, looking around the classroom. "This room is—wow!"

Joe grinned. "Oh c'mon, you've been to more impressive rooms," he said, and then he quickly frowned. "Zach what are you doing here?"

"What?"

"What are you doing here at Gallagher?" Joe asked, before correcting himself. "In fact how did you even know I teach at Gallagher now?"

"The letters you sent me?" Zach reminded him. "They had stamps you know?"

Solomon stared at him blankly.

Zach shrugged. "I remembered you saying something about teaching here the last time I came here."

"The last time you came here you used the bathroom."

"Correction: the last time I came here, _Grant_ needed to use the bathroom. And that was a little over six years ago."

A pained expression crossed Solomon's face at the mention of Grant's name, but it quickly disappeared. "Nevertheless, what do you want?" he asked, leaning against his desk.

Zach knew he couldn't keep anything from Solomon. He slowly brought out the pamphlet for The Metropolitan Museum of Art and placed it on the desk. "I hear there'll be a lot of priceless work there in a few weeks."

"There will also be a lot of cops there," Joe said, looking thoughtfully at the pamphlet. "A new heist Zach? No way."

"What?" Zach exclaimed.

"Zach, I have a life now. I'm a teacher."

"'A teacher' my ass! What about your talents? Are you going to just waste that here?"

Joe looked away, and Zach silently feared he might have said something to trigger Joe's past.

"Look," Zach said. "If you're not going to help me, then tell me someone who will. I can't pull this off without you."

"Jonas," was Joe's simple reply.

"What about Jonas?"

"Jonas has the ability to help you pull this off without me."

Zach raised an eyebrow. "And where exactly _is_ the JoBro?"

Joe smiled. "You're in luck. He's here in Roseville. He works at Abrams and Son Pharmacy under the name 'Billy Nakamura'."

Location: Abrams and Son Pharmacy

Roseville, Virginia

Date: Saturday, July 2nd 

Zachary Goode

Zach entered the pharmacy, the doors making a jingling sound signalling that there was someone in the pharmacy. Zach walked down the narrow aisle and to the cash register.

Standing behind the desk was a Jonas, or as Joe said: _Billy Nakamura_. His dark hair fell to his face and his dark eyes scanned the computer screen in front of him. He was so captivated by his computer that he didn't even notice the brunette walk up.

Jonas, you idiot, Zach thought.

"Billy-boy!" he yelled in Jonas' ears.

"Holy shit!" Jonas screamed, looking wide-eyed at the culprit. "Damn you Zach!"

"Get your Chinese ass on this side of the desk, _Billy_" Zach laughed. "I want to talk to you."

"You know that I'm Korean," Jonas said with a roll of his eyes, though he complied. "What do you want Zach?"

"I have a plan," Zach said cautiously. "But I don't know if you're going to like it."

"Just spit it out."

"There's an art display at New York in a couple of weeks," Zach said, looking at a sceptical Jonas.

"We split the profit?" Jonas asked.

"We split the profit," Zach confirmed.

"And what are you going to do with your half?"

"Create a new identity," Zach guessed. "Maybe move to Europe."

"Just don't get me arrested again," Jonas smiled, thinking about the last heist they pulled together. Then he quickly frowned. "Is FBI still after you?"

"No," Zach shook his head.

"What about Interpol?" Jonas asked. Zach nodded. "If we get caught, you're going to be doing a whole lot of time in prison. Longer than last time."

"I know that," Zach said, rolling his dark eyes. "That's why we're recruiting people."

Jonas smiled. "And I think I know someone who might be interested."

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><p><strong>AN:<strong>

**This is the first official chapter and I hope you liked it!**

**-What did you think?**  
><strong>-Who is that 'someone' Jonas is talking about?<strong>  
><strong>-Does anybody else here watch White Collar?<strong>  
><strong>-Random: Anybody here sad Harry Potter has been put to an end?<strong>

**-Ciara**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimed**

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><p><span>Location: Columbia University<span>

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Sunday, July 3rd

Jonas Kim

"No, I'm not interested," was Tina's simple answer.

"What?" Jonas cried, probably sounding like a five-year-old boy in the process, but he didn't care. "Why not?"

"Zach, Jonas," Tina began. "You may not understand it, but I'm done. I do not want to steal, forge, or lie anymore."

Jonas frowned. He didn't understand why Tina was doing this. He wondered how Tina could even think about letting go of the con-life. She was, after all, born into this, meaning she's been doing this her whole life. Jonas, on the other hand, had to work his way into this sort of lifestyle.

"C'mon, Cos," Zach said, trying to reason with his cousin.

"Don't _Cos_ me," Tina scowled. "We may be family, but that doesn't mean I'm obligated to help you with every heist you want freaking pull."

"But we need you!" Jonas whined.

"Go get another forger," Tina said sternly. "I'm out."

"Why get a different forger when you can have the best in the business?" Zach said.

"_Was_ the best in the business," Tina said. "It's been four years Zach."

"Exactly!" Jonas interjected. "It's been four years! Why not get back into the business?"

"Because Jonas," Tina said. "I have a life. I go to university now—for fuck's sake I got into an Ivy League school—"

"And I'm proud of you for that, Tina," Zach interrupted.

Tina glared at Zach. "I have _friends_, guys. I don't want to lose them."

"You'll make new ones," Zach and Jonas said in unison.

"Richer and better-looking ones!" Jonas added cheerfully.

"_Excuse me?_" an unfamiliar voice asked, making Jonas jump.

They turned to find a gorgeous, dark-haired girl. Jonas recognized her as the senator's daughter, Macey McHenry. She wore high-end clothing, a diamond nose stud, and a smug look on her face.

"Mace what are you doing here?" Tina hissed.

"I heard your cousin was in town," Macey said casually, looking both Jonas and Zach over, her blue eyes cold and judging, making Jonas fidget in his seat.

"Who's this?" Macey pointed at Jonas.

"That's Jonas," Tina said. "He's a friend. People say he's a genius, I honestly don't see it."

Jonas gaped at Tina, who smiled mockingly back at him.

Macey sighed. Jonas expected her to say something snooty or ask what everyone was talking about—you know, try and get into _everybody's_ freaking business. But no. What she said next shocked Jonas.

"You have to join them Tina," she said. "And you're bringing me with you."

Jonas and Zach laughed nervously. "What are you talking about, Macey?" Zach raised an eyebrow.

"Please," Macey scoffed. "Do you honestly believe that I don't know what you two are, or that I don't know shit about my best friend's past?"

"And what exactly _are_ we?"

"You're con-artists," she said smugly.

Jonas laughed nervously. "Well if we were con-artists—which we're not—you're still not coming with us."

"Yes I am, or I'll call the police."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

Location: Empire Hotel

New York City

Date: Sunday, July 3rd

Zachary Goode

"I can't believe you agreed to take her with us," Jonas hissed, looking over his shoulder at the bored heiress.

"Calm down JoBro," Zach laughed. "Who cares if she's coming along with us? She can't do us harm."

Jonas huffed, "fine, but don't expect me to help her or anything."

Zach laughed, but chose to leave his friend alone. He really didn't want to piss Jonas off, after all, real friends were hard to find. But then again, they were also harder to lose. Zach would know.

Four years ago, on the last heist they pulled. Zach's and Jonas' friend, Grant, supposedly died at a bombing. _Supposedly,_ because they never found his body. It was devastating. The whole heist was ruined, everybody's hopes were crushed, and people were left heartbroken.

"Hey Jonas," Zach said quietly. "Did you guys ever find Grant?"

"Yeah, he's here in New York."

"You mean he's buried here?" Zach asked.

A look of confusion contorted on Jonas' face and his eyes visibly widened. "You didn't know?"

"Didn't know what?"

"Grant's alive."

"What?" Zach exclaimed.

"Yeah," Jonas said, before he began rambling. "He's been recreating himself for the last four years. Calling himself 'Grant Newman'. I know right, stupid name. I mean it's so obvious, since he allegedly died, but he's not, he's a _new man_. Do you get it? I get it—"

"Jonas!" Zach interrupted him. "Does Liz know?"

Jonas' face hardened. "No, she doesn't. And before you get mad, it's not like I can actually tell her, okay? I don't know where she is. It's like she's gone off the face of the Earth."

"Well then we're just going to have to find her won't we?"

Location: Grant's Apartment Building

Brooklyn, New York City

Date: Sunday, July 3rd

Jonas Kim

"What is this dump?" Macey asked, looking at the run-down building they were entering.

"Shush, Macey!" Tina hissed.

They entered the building without trouble and Jonas couldn't help but think how typical of Grant to choose an old apartment building without any security. They walked to Grant's door and couldn't help but hear yelling from the other side. He looked at the others and found that they could hear it too.

"Where's my money Grant?" a vaguely familiar feminine voice shrieked.

"I don't have it, okay?" said a more masculine voice, Jonas recognized as Grant's.

Typical Grant, Jonas thought, always one to keep a debt going.

"What?" the feminine voice exclaimed. Then Jonas heard muttering and a few string of profanities before he heard something break and Grant scream.

"Stop! Stop!" Grant yelled.

Still more breaking.

Jonas gave Zach a look, begging him to pick the lock already. (Breaking down doors wasn't exactly their thing). Zach shrugged and picked the lock. He opened the door only to find a terrified Grant and an angry looking girl throwing plates at the aforementioned Grant. Jonas' eyes narrowed at the girl and then they widened in realization.

"Kim?" Jonas, Zach, and Tina all gaped. The dark-haired girl turned, revealing a skinny Asian with long legs.

"Oh hey guys!" she waved cheerfully at them. "What's up?"

"What are you doing here?" Tina asked, running up to hug her.

"Grant owes me money."

"Yeah, we figured."

"Who's this?" Kim asked, gesturing to Macey.

"This is Macey McHenry," Tina smiled. "My friend. Macey, this is Kim Lee, also known as Master Pick Pocket, also known as Jonas' step sister."

Kim smiled, but then quickly frowned. "Why are you guys all together?" she asked cautiously, and then as if something clicked in her. "Oh my gosh, you guys are planning a heist!"

"A heist?" Grant exclaimed. Jonas had almost forgotten he was there.

"Yeah buddy," Zach smiled, walking over to give Grant a hug. Or what Grant liked to call it: man-hug.

"You're alive," Zach said, pinching Grant's cheeks—much to Grant's dismay.

"I am."

"Does Liz know?"

"I don't know where Liz is," Grant said glumly.

"Oh c'mon!" Tina exclaimed. "You guys are twins; don't you have some sort of telepathic thing-y, or telephonosis, or something along those lines?"

Grant stared at her as if she as insane. "What the _fuck_ are you on?"

Tina shrugged.

"Look," Zach said, eyeing both Grant and Kim. "We could really use you guys for this. What do you think?"

"Well I'm in!" Grant smiled, but Kim looked sceptical.

"You got arrested last time," she said bluntly.

"Yeah, so?"

"And what if history repeats itself?"

"Would you stop being so doubtful, sis?" Jonas grinned. "You're turning into me."

Kim frowned. "Jonas we haven't seen each other in four years, people change."

Jonas looked down.

"C'mon Kim," Tina smiled. "It'll be fun! I promise you, you will have fun—oh don't give me that look—please! C'mon, do it for the heck of it!"

Kim sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"Awesome!" Grant exclaimed, pumping his fists. "We're getting the band back together!"

"We're not a band!" Macey snapped.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Grant muttered sarcastically.

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><p><strong>Thank you to all who reviewed the previous chapters! It means a lot. :) <strong>

**-what did you think?  
>-favourite line?<strong>

**-Ciara**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hiya! **

**Disclaimer: All copyrights belong to their rightful owner. **

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><p><span>Location: Kim's Apartment<span>

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Wednesday, July 6th

Grant Newman

"Nice place you got here, Kim," Grant said, entering Kim's apartment. He observed the place, studying each piece of art in the room, trying to decide whether it was fake or stolen. He looked at an antique vase in front of him and concluded that the vase was indeed stolen.

"Please, take your time," Macey said sarcastically, looking at her non-existent watch. "We've only been waiting for you for about an hour now."

Grant frowned at Macey and looked at the rest of them for an explanation to Macey's attitude, earning shrugs and sympathetic looks. "Sorry I'm late, guys," he apologized, plopping down on Kim's couch.

Macey rolled her eyes and was about to make a snappy remark on Grant's tardiness when Tina shushed her with a look.

"We're thinking about going to the Met today, you know, just to scope things out," Tina smiled. "We need to get a layout of the place, find out where all the exits are, what security is like, stuff like that."

Grant nodded_. _I wonder what they use for the vault, he thought.

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Wednesday, July 6th

Grant Newman

Grant sighed as he walked up the steps of the Met. It was good to finally be back in his home turf: any place with priceless art, really. He smiled at couple of girls, who started giggling and Grant suddenly felt a jolt of pride overcome him. It's been a long time, but I still got game, he thought.

The minute they entered the building, Grant immediately admired the structure of the building. The Met had high ceilings, tall columns, and wide arches. In front of them was the front desk in the shape of an octagon and behind that was a staircase.

Zach sniffed the air. "Ah, the scent of priceless art," he said, closing his eyes. "I've missed you."

"Okay Lover Boy," Tina grinned. "We're here to work."

"Yeah, whatever."

The next hour or so was spent walking around the place. They went to the cafeteria, the boutique, the gift shop, the Greek and Roman galleries, and The Cloisters. Grant felt right at home.

"Wow this place is great!" Kim said, entering a different gallery that was labelled _Closed_. "Why didn't we ever go here before?"

Jonas shrugged. "I guess it's because we always preferred The Louvre."

Grant nodded in agreement.

"It's empty," Kim said, looking around the gallery with a disappointed look on her face.

"I think this is where the art display will be held at," Macey said.

"Well," Zach said, a smirk forming on his lips. "I think we just found our future."

They all turned to leave the gallery when someone cleared their throat. Macey froze, Jonas' eyes widened for a second, a look of disappointment crossed Tina's face, Kim muttered under her breath, Grant held a blank look, and Zach hid a small smile.

"You're not supposed to be here," said a feminine voice with a strong Russian accent. Grant turned to face her, his eyes studying her. She looks familiar, Grant thought. She had blonde hair that was tied into a bun, long model-like legs, and piercing gold eyes.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Zach apologized, flashing a smile. "We got lost."

She narrowed her eyes at them, causing Grant's confidence to falter for a second, but Zach stayed his ground. The woman was dressed in formal clothes, making Grant assume that she worked at the museum, though she was young enough to also give the impression that she didn't work at the museum.

"Anyways, we were just going," Kim smiled.

"Right," the woman said, stepping away for the doors. "Of course you were."

The silently filed out of the gallery, Zach being the last one to leave. "Again," Zach said, flashing his signature smirk. "Sorry about that. We didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"No trouble at all. Just make sure you don't enter anymore closed galleries. We are bringing in new pieces of art for the display in a couple of weeks, so we don't need any strays."

"Yes, of course."

They walked to the lobby of the museum, heading out the front doors. Macey sighed. "That was close," she said.

"Yeah, I guess," Zach said absent-mindedly. "Listen, in a few days they'll be stocking that room up with priceless paintings and other pieces of art. That means they'll also be installing new security systems. We need to find out what types of systems they'll be putting in, so I want eyes and ears on the people working that exhibit all right?"

"But you heard what the lady said," Macey protested. "We can't go onto the galleries."

"Macey, Macey, Macey," Grant said making a 'tsk' noise with his tongue. "She may have said it, but it doesn't mean we need to listen to her."

Zach checked his watch and looked at Jonas. Jonas nodded and they excused themselves saying they needed to be elsewhere.

"What was that all about?" Kim asked, once we were sure that Zach and Jonas were out of ear-shot.

Grant shrugged. "I don't know, but I didn't like that exchange they made."

Tina nodded in agreement.

Location: 5th Avenue

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Wednesday, July 6th

Zachary Goode

"Did you find out where she is?" Zach asked, feeling the cool breeze against his skin as they walked down 5th Avenue.

"Not yet," Jonas said, fixing his glasses. "But I found someone else."

"Care to enlighten me on that Jo?" Zach chuckled, as they turned a corner.

"Dillon Jones," Jonas said, his face forming a look of disdain.

"What about him?" Zach's eyebrows furrowed. "Last I check he was making fake ID's for..." he trailed off, realizing what Jonas was getting at.

"Exactly."

"You think he created Liz's new identity?"

"I know he did," Jonas said, nodding vigorously. "You know he was head-over-heels for Liz. I'm sure he'd do anything for her."

"Like how you would?"

Jonas stiffened. "She ended it a long time ago, Zach. Can we leave it at that? Besides, we're finding her for Grant, remember?"

Zach didn't look convinced. Deep down, he knew Jonas still had feelings for Liz, even after their break-up, but he chose to leave the matter. "Okay, where is he?"

"Jersey."

"New Jersey?" Zach asked.

"No, Old Jersey," Jonas replied sarcastically. "Yes, New Jersey! Where else?"

"Well no need to get snappy," Zach mumbled.

"Say," Jonas sniffed. "Do you drive?"

Zach raised his eyebrows, but nodded. "I know how to drive, thought it doesn't necessarily mean I am eligible to drive." But Jonas just grinned.

"I never said it had to be legal."

Location: Bridgewater Commons

Commons Way, Bridgewater, New Jersey

Date: Wednesday, July 6th

Jonas Kim

"You better have a good reason for making me come here, Jonas," Dillon hissed in his annoyingly-nasally voice that made Jonas want to puke. He looked around the crowded mall, as if to check no one knows that he was associated with the likes of Zachary Goode and Jonas Kim.

Jonas rolled his dark eyes. "Relax, would you? We just need to know one thing."

"And that is?"

"Where's Liz?" Zach asked.

Dillon's eyes widened for a second and he looked about ready to run away. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Yes you do," Zach said.

"No, I don't," Dillon said, turning around, about to walk away, but Zach caught his arm.

"Tell us where Liz is," Zach demanded. And for a second, Dillon's confidence faltered.

"I don't know where Liz is," he said, grinning mockingly at Jonas. Jonas pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed with the sound of Dillon's voice, when an idea popped in his head. He gave Zach a look telling him to play along. Zach nodded.

Jonas sighed. "You know Zach, here, is now close friends with the FBI, aren't you Zach?"

"Sure am," Zach grinned.

"Did you know he has them on speed dial?" Jonas smiled innocently.

"What are you getting it?" Dillon asked, his eyes darting nervously from Jonas to Zach.

"Tell us where Liz is or you'll be saying _Hi_ to a very special FBI agent."

Zach reached into his pocket, for effect. And apparently Dillon saw this too, because at the moment he spilled all the information he had on Liz.

Jonas and Zach smiled, satisfied with Dillon's answer and left. Once they were outside, Zach gave Jonas a questioning look.

"Speed dial, Jonas?" Zach laughed. "I don't even have a phone."

"Well, Dillon's always been a loser anyway. He's all talk and no action," Jonas said, feeling himself fill with pride.

"Well at least we know where Liz is," Zach grinned.

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><p><strong>Thank you to all who review this story! Really, thanks! So I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II the other day (and I know this is totally irrelevant but...) and it was absolutely amazing! Any one else a HP fan? <strong>

**-What did you think?**  
><strong>-Favourite character so far?<strong>  
><strong>-Any grammatical mistakes? <strong>

**PS. For those of you who read my other story Starstruck, I'm sorry for being a horrible updater, but I've written the chapter. I'm just adding more, okay?**

**Okay, thanks. Bye. **


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: all copyrights belong to their rightful owner(s).**

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><p><span>Location: Kim's Apartment<span>

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 9th

Macey McHenry

Macey sat awkwardly on Kim's couch as they planned what they will be doing on the day of the heist.

"Maybe we could bomb the place down," Tina said glumly. "I'm sure Grant can get us supplies."

"I think my friend Fernando can supply me some," Grant said thoughtfully. "Though I think he's out of town..."

"We're not bombing the place down," Kim said sternly.

Jonas nodded in agreement. "Grant, Tina, it's a museum."

"Maybe we can pull a Tom and Jerry," Tina supplied. Macey opened her mouth to ask what a Tom and Jerry was, but she was cut off by Zach who shook his head.

"Too risky."

Tina sighed exasperatedly. "What are we going to do?" she said.

"I don't know," Zach said quietly, standing up from his seat next to Kim and began pacing. "We can't pull a _Tom and Jerry_ because it's too risky, pulling a _Fairly Odd Parents_ is too complicated and it'll take too much time..."

Macey felt herself fill up with disappointment. From the very beginning, she knew that she will never be accepted into this the way she wanted to be. She will never understand inside jokes, seeing how she's an outsider, and she will probably never be as good as any of them when it comes to being a thief. But she just had to try. Everything is better than my old boring life, she thought.

"Let's not forget that the painting is very heavily guarded," Jonas said. "In daylight it's behind bullet-proof, drill-proof, glass, barred behind lasers and whoever gets close to it will probably get shot. At night time, it's transferred to the basement straight from its place in the gallery and into, yet another, bullet-proof casing, in the middle of a pressure-sensitive floor, which is inside of a vault."

"What kind of vault do they use?" Grant raised an eyebrow.

"A 360 Welldenski," Jonas said and Grant winced, as if the knowledge of what type of vault they use is physically bearing down on him. Jonas grinned smugly at him. "That's right, Grant, it's from Poland. Try cracking that."

"Trust the Poles to ruin a heist..." Grant muttered darkly.

"Jonas, can you get control of the cameras?" Kim asked.

Jonas shook his head sadly. "No, their security has, all of sudden, gotten better."

"Well can you try again?"

"I already tried five times. I still can't get across their firewall, which means I can't get computer access, which means—"

"We get it, Jo," Tina cut him off. "No need to go all freaky-geeky on us."

"We need camera access," Zach thought aloud, "or else we won't have a clue about what's going on inside—duh! But who do we know that's perfectly capable of hacking into something this big?"

"Solomon?" Tina suggested.

Zach shook his head. "Solomon can't do. We need the best."

A look crossed Jonas' face. "Are you sure we _want_ the best?"

Macey watched as a silent exchange went between Zach and Jonas. They seemed to be thinking on the same page, but Macey didn't understand. She looked at the others' faces. They seemed to have no understanding of this either. Macey came to a conclusion: _I guess we're not on the same page... Heck! We're not even on the same book!_

"Guys!" Kim said, breaking everyone out of their thoughts. She looked at Zach and Jonas. "I know you two have this habit of getting lost in one another's eyes, but not now. What are you two thinking? C'mon give us a clue!"

"Liz."

Location: Somewhere in Montréal

Québec, Canada

Date: Saturday, July 9th

Macey McHenry

They shortly arrived in _Montréal, Québec_ via Macey's dad's private jet, the surprisingly-warm Canadian air hitting them in their faces.

"I expected it to be colder," Grant said. Ever since the mention of his sister's name, Macey noticed that Grant seemed to have become more annoying than he usually was. Macey, however, kept quiet about her observations, seeing as she knew nothing about Grant's or Liz's past.

"Come on guys, the limo's this way," Macey said, ushering them towards a black limousine.

The limousine stopped and they all silently filed out. Macey looked at her surroundings and was taken aback with that she saw. They were at a club! A _club_! From what Tina and the others said, Liz was a quiet girl with a genius mind. A club was the last thing Macey expected from her. And judging from Grant's eyes, which were practically popping out of their sockets, his slacked jaw, and overall look of surprise, he probably thought the same.

They entered the club, and found that it was empty, aside from the workers. There were chairs stacked on top of tables, a custodian with music blasting from his headphones, and a couple of people—bartenders—cleaning glasses behind the bar.

"This way," Zach said, leading them towards the bar. There was man in his thirties, a feisty-looking red-headed girl, a blonde pixie-like girl, and a hot brunette, who looked seriously ripped. They all laughed at something the red-headed said, but came to an abrupt stop when Zach interjected himself.

"A club, Lizzie?" he said, leaning against the bar as he inspected the place. "I guess I expected more from you."

The blonde gaped. Her blue eyes were wide and she dropped the glass she was cleaning. Macey wondered at what she was looking at. She obviously wasn't looking at Zach, who had a satisfied smirk on his face. Nor was she looking at Jonas, who looked flabbergasted. Her eyes were fixated on Grant.

"Hey Sis!" Grant smiled sheepishly, which was followed by a gasp.

Macey followed the sound, it was the red-head and she was looking wide-eyed at the floor.

Liz had passed out.

Location: Aboard Macey's dad's private jet 

Somewhere in North America

Date: Saturday, July 9th

Tina Walters

Tina sat in her seat, watching Liz while she slept. Yes, she thought, it's creepy to stare at someone while they slept, but it's actually Liz! Tina's gaze turned to Grant. Grant was sitting anxiously by his sister's side, waiting for her to finally open her eyes.

Liz turned and murmured something so low, not even Tina could hear. Liz opened her eyes and Tina stared expectantly at her.

"Hey Liz!" Tina greeted.

"Hi Tina," Liz said, rubbing her eyes. "Where am I?"

"On a plane to New York," Grant interjected.

Liz screamed, jumping away from Grant and hid behind Jonas and Kim. "Ghost! There's a ghost on a plane!" she screamed, her eyes wide. And then she muttered to herself," Oh my daisies! And I thought snakes on a plane were bad—"

"Liz!" Jonas said, shaking her shoulders. "Liz, calm down!" he said, looking at a panting Liz in the eye.

They were quiet for a while. No one knew what to say. Grant was utterly speechless, Macey didn't care, Zach was amused, Kim was indifferent, and Tina felt all four feelings at once. Jonas and Liz, on the other hand, seemed to be silently communicating through the way they looked into one another's eyes. It's like they have this secret passing between each other, something only the two of them would understand. Probably some freaky-geeky language, Tina thought. Tina looked at her friend's faces. Liz looked thrilled to see Jonas, yet she seemed sad at the same time. Jonas, however, just seemed sad. He had this look in his eyes, as if the one thing he'd ever wanted was the only one he couldn't have.

"Grant's alive, Liz," Jonas smiled, snapping out of his thoughts, and letting go of Liz's shoulders.

"Yup," Grant said, popping the 'p'. "He sure is."

"Why are you talking about yourself in a third-person point-of-view?" Liz asked and Grant shrugged. Then they both grinned and all of a sudden, hugs were being given and the tears that were being held back were finally set free.

"I can't believe you're alive!" Liz said, hugging her brother.

"Me neither!" Grant exclaimed, hugging her back. "Holy ravioli! I missed you so much, Lizzie!"

"I missed you too, Grant!" Liz smiled, but then she frowned, releasing her brother. "Wait, what are you guys doing together?" she asked, taking a tentative step backwards. "You guys are never together unless there's..."

"Now would be a really good time to put that genius-brain of yours to good use," Zach smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it! <strong>

**By the way, it has come into my attention that Kim was not in the prologue-thing-y. The reason for this is because I hadn't originally planned on giving Kim such a big role in the story. So if you want to see her character thing-y, I edited the prologue-thing-y and added her on it. :)**

**-What do you think?  
>-Any ideas what would happen next?<strong>  
><strong>-Any spellinggrammar/etc. errors?  
><strong>**-Favourite line or scene? **

**-Ciara  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry for the wait! I've been working on future chapters for this, the next chapter for Starstruck, and I've also had a terrible case of writers block. But nevertheless, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: All copyrights are to their rightful owner(s).**

* * *

><p><span>Location: Kim's Apartment<span>

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 11th

Kim Lee

"So," Tina began. "Can you do it?"

"Yeah," Liz said, not bothering to look up from her computer screen. "I can get control of the cameras...in one condition."

Zach groaned, taking a sip of water. "What now?"

"A friend needs my help," she said. "And I owe this person, so I promised them that the next heist I pull, they'll be in it."

Kim's eyes narrowed. "Who exactly is this 'friend'?"

Liz laughed nervously, and finally looked up from her computer screen. "Yeah, about that..."

"Liz, spit it out!"

"It's Bex."

Grant choked, Zach did a spit take, Macey was confused, Tina was happy, Jonas was scared, and Kim was devastated. Kim didn't like Bex. From the moment Kim met Bex, she knew she could never work with the likes of Bex Baxter. And the feeling was mutual. Kim thought Bex was irresponsible, and Bex thought Kim was a goody-two-shoe. Kim groaned inwardly. Bex was going to make her life a living hell; she might as well curl up in a corner and groan her way through life. They'll call her _Groaning Kim_, Moaning Myrtle's best friend.

All of a sudden everyone started speaking at once.

"B-Bex—" Zach choked.

"As in _Bex Baxter_—" Grant clarified.

"She's a monster! She'll kill me—" Jonas whimpered.

"Ooh! I missed her so much—" Tina exclaimed.

"Oh. Her." Kim said in a monotone voice.

"Who's Bex?" Macey asked.

Location: Times Square

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 11th

Kim Lee

They met up with Bex at Times Square. Her cappuccino skin glowed like an Egyptian goddess', her dark eyes gleamed mischievously, and she smiled with her pearly, white teeth. She was absolutely gorgeous and Kim wanted to puke. Yes, Bex was very beautiful, Kim admitted. But beneath all the glamour, Bex was one tough cookie.

"Oh, hello, Kim," Bex greeted her last (no surprise there); her British accent was as thick as ever. "How are you?"

"I'm great," Kim said, "and yourself?"

"Oh you know, just here and there," Bex replied, and then it was quiet.

You could say the silence was deafening, but that would be an understatement—yes, it was so awkward, they made Times Square seem quiet. Grant cleared his throat.

"We should probably go," he said. "Got lots of planning to do."

Bex shook her head in amusement. "Oh Grant," she said fondly. "I thought you were dead. I missed you."

Grant nodded. "We all did and I missed you too."

Location: Empire Hotel

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 11th

Zachary Goode

"Why exactly do you need to be a part of this heist?" Zach asked as they sat around the glass coffee table of their suite at Empire.

"People are not happy with me, and since heists include profit, I thought maybe I could get a percentage of it."

"You're still on the run?" Jonas asked. Bex's head snapped towards Jonas and Jonas jumped back in fear.

"Yes I am," Bex said in a bored tone. And then she smirked at Jonas. "Got a problem with that, Jonas?"

"No," Jonas squeaked.

Bex smiled victoriously before turning back to Zach. "So what's the plan? Do I sense an Alice in Wonderland or a Phineas and Ferb?"

"They're the same thing, Bex," Tina corrected. "But I still think we should pull a Tom and Jerry."

"A Tom and Jerry?" Bex asked incredulously. "Need I remind you what happened in Paris?"

"Bex is right," Jonas said. "Besides, Zach told you it was too risky, Tina. Plus, I am _not_ getting my eyebrows torched..._again_."

Grant nodded in agreement and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Macey. "Okay, what is it with you people and these names? What's next, a Cinderella?" she asked, causing a round of laughter from everyone.

"Don't be silly, Mace," Tina smiled. "We all know that pulling a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would be better for this job. Besides, we'll need a pumpkin for that..."

"A pumpkin? How is that—" Macey stopped herself and shook her head. "You people are insane."

You don't know half of it, Zach thought. He watched his friends argue about which con would be best suited for this job and Zach couldn't help but laugh. These were the kind of moments that reminded him of how things used to be. Back before he got arrested, before Tina even attended school, before Grant supposedly died, before Bex became the interest of a mob. It reminded him of a time when their biggest problem was finding out Jonas' real identity, because back then, they had adults to worry for them. Zach sighed; he was way in over his head.

They talked for quite some time, discussing which tactics to use and planning how they were going to play it out. After hours of arguing—and throwing marble ashtrays on Bex's behalf—they finally decided on what they were going to do. And Zach was nervous.

"Macey I need you to get invited to the art exhibit," Zach instructed. Macey nodded. "I'll be your plus-one. I'll go as Livingston, Charles Livingston. Liz you're in charge of computers, Tina is in charge of making a replica, Grant and Jonas you're in charge of supplies, and finally, Bex and Kim, you two are in charge of guards—don't slaughter each other.

Everyone nodded their agreement. Zach watched them all one by one. Liz was typing away at her laptop, Jonas and Grant were being weird, Tina began painting her nails, Macey looked nervous, Kim was bored, and Bex seemed jumpy. Ever since Bex arrived, Zach noticed something strange about her. She was alert, her eyes darted quickly, and she seemed overall sketchy. Zach didn't trust her, but what could he do? Kicking her out would just ruin the entire heist.

After more planning, they decided to go their own ways. Macey headed to bed and so did Tina, Kim went home, dragging Jonas with her, Bex and Liz took over Jonas' previous room, Grant went back to Brooklyn, but Zach stayed where he was. He needed to think, _really_ think.

Location: Kim's Apartment 

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 15th

Kim Lee

It was the day before the heist and Kim has been working with Bex all week—begrudgingly, of course. Their job was to find out exactly how many guards were to be stationed at the museum on the day of the exhibit. At first Kim was angered by this, not only is she paired up with Bex, but Zach placed her at the worst and most rookie job. However, she was soon informed by Bex (much to her dismay) that their job was much more than that.

While working together, Kim noticed that Bex became very jumpy at times. When they first broke into the computer room of the museum—technically they just walked in, considering how much power Bex had over the swooning guards—Bex seemed to jump at every little noise, as if expecting something or someone dangerous to come out of nowhere. She also took a lot of secret calls, saying they were personal, or 'It was my mum', or 'Just some business I had to tend to'. Kim didn't like it. However, Kim had to give it up to Bex, because when it comes to getting the job done, she was good at it. When they needed to enter the computer room, Bex used her knowledge of men (which was apparently a lot) and flaunted her body like the seductress that she was. Pretty soon every living male's eyes were dead-set on her.

Unbelievable.

"So, is everything set at the museum?" Zach asked interrupting Kim's thoughts as they all sat in Kim's living room—well everyone but Grant, who was late as usual. "That thing Liz needed you to install is good?"

"Everything's good, Zach. Calm down," Bex said. "How about you guys, are you guys good?"

"Yeah," Zach and Macey said in unison.

"How about you guys?" Zach asked Liz, Tina, and Jonas.

Tina gave a thumbs-up, Liz shrugged and turned back to her laptop, and Jonas said, "Yeah, we're good, Grant got the stuff yesterday, and they're at his place."

"Speaking of Grant, where is the Blond-Headed Fur-Ball?" Kim asked, referring to an old alias of Grant's. Everyone shared questioning glances.

Suddenly the door burst open and Grant came in carrying a box. "Hey guys! I was wondering do we need snakes for tomorrow?" he asked.

Kim gawked. "Why in the world—"

But apparently Grant wasn't done talking, "You guys know my Fernando? Well, his brother Jorge needed a favour and asked if I would buy a dozen his snakes, so I did!" he exclaimed cheerfully, oblivious to the odd looks his friends were giving him. Throwing the lid aside, he shoved the box in Macey's face, "Look!"

Macey yelped, jumping up on the couch. "Get those things away from me!" she shrieked.

"Grant!" everyone yelled. He raised his hands up in defence and placed the lid back on top of the box, before any of the snakes got out.

"So we don't need the snakes?" he asked disappointed.

"No."

He groaned. "Then what am I going to do with a dozen snakes?"

Suddenly, someone's phone rang and Bex excused herself quickly, running out the door to take it. Kim rolled her eyes obviously irritated, though secretly hoping no one saw.

Unfortunately luck was not on her side.

"Something wrong with your eye, Kim?" Macey drawled, an eyebrow was raised and she had a knowing look on her face. She's smarter than I thought, Kim thought bitterly.

"Just an eyelash," Kim lied smoothly, and Macey smirked.

"Who cares about Kim's eye or eyelash, what's up with Bex?" Grant said.

Kim shrugged. "She's been doing that a lot lately..."

"What do you mean?" Tina asked.

"You know, taking secret calls, whispering..." Kim tried to say it as nonchalant as possible. "It kind of seems like she's up to something..."

Kim stared at her friends; they all had uneasy looks on their faces. Then Zach shrugged, "Whatever," he said nonchalantly, though Kim knew he was bothered by this too. Who wouldn't be? They were like family and families don't keep secrets. But apparently, one Rebecca Baxter had missed the memo.

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 16th

Zachary Goode

Zach looked at Macey. "Here it goes," he said, and Macey nodded stiffly. "Relax, McHenry," he instructed. "Deep breaths."

Macey began to inhale and exhale slowly and Zach thought they were finally ready, but then she began to pant. "I can't do this," she exhaled, shaking her head. "I really thought I could, but my parents were right, I can't do anything without quitting it."

"Macey!" he said. "Calm down."

Macey nodded once again. "I can do this," she said to herself.

Zach took her elbow and they began to ascend the stairs of the Met. Around them were social elites in fancy dresses and tuxedos chattering excitedly about the exhibition. Zach couldn't help but smirk, because by the end of the day, this museum will never be the same again.

They entered the museum and Zach marvelled at the amount of people who came to say hello to Macey, who greeted them back and politely introduced Zach as Charles Livingston, son of a Duke (yeah right). Macey became quickly annoyed with every question she was asked about her mother and her father. Zach took this as his cue to lead the scowling heiress elsewhere. They turned a corner on their way to the gallery when Zach saw a familiar face. Zach wondered whether this familiar face remembered him. He hoped so. He locked eyes with the person, and much to his pleasure, the person's eyes widened, their jaws tightened, and their fists clenched and unclenched.

"Hello Cameron!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Zachary Goode," she acknowledged him curtly. "Or is Peter Adams?" she asked referring to one of his old aliases.

"It's Charles actually, Charles Livingston," he said before gesturing to Macey. "This is Macey McHenry, but I'm sure you knew that."

Cameron looked disdainfully at Zach before turning to Macey. "Hello Ms. McHenry, how can you possibly stand such an unpleasant sight?" she gestured to Zach.

"I wonder that, myself," Macey smirked and Zach rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Livingston," Cameron said sarcastically before her voice turned cold. "What are you up to?"

"Why do you automatically assume I'm up to something?" Zach asked, smiling innocently. Macey scoffed and he nudged her in the rib.

"You're a Conman, you smile for a living," she said.

Zach shrugged. "I was invited. It would have been rude to decline."

"Who would want to invite the man who robbed the Louvre, to an art exhibition?"

"_Allegedly_ robbed the Louvre, they have no proof."

Cameron waved her hand dismissively. "Anyways, where's Kim? Let me guess: trouble in paradise? On second thought, where's Joe? I don't see your friend around," she said trying to provoke Zach, which was obviously working. "Now that I think about it, Reign isn't here either," she mocked gasped and Zach gritted his teeth at the mention of the name. "I guess big brother won't be around to save your ass anymore." And with one last look of disdain, she left.

Macey looked at him. "Why was I not aware that you and Kim _dated_? Who's Joe—more importantly, who's Reign? Is he your brother? Is he hot?"

* * *

><p><strong>So that was that :D Yes, Reign Goode is an original character, but I don't plan on giving him a really big role, though he will play a sort-of-important-role (you'll see). Basically, he's just there. <strong>

**Both Bex **_**and**_** Cammie are in this chapter, yay for that! Everyone always asks me, "Is Cammie going to be in the story? Will there be 'Zammie'?" And you guys have to calm down. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but chill :) I have a plan. Anyways, Cammie was in the prologue-thingy and if you read it, you'd know she'd be in the story. Again, I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just saying. **

**-Any thoughts?  
><strong>**-Grammar mistakes? (I checked, I didn't really see anything, but just in case)  
><strong>**-Favourite line/part?  
><strong>**-Who is your current favourite character (if you have one)?**

**That's about it. **

'**Till the next time...**


	7. Chapter 7

_**disclaimed.**_

Recap:

Zach got his old gang together (with the exception of Macey). They make plans as to how the heist will go down and then they search for Liz, who passed out when she saw her supposedly-dead brother. With Liz in, they get Bex to come as well and things become tense between Bex and Kim. On the day of the heist, Zach and Macey enter the museum where they run into familiar face (for Zach, anyway).

* * *

><p><span>Location: In a stakeout van somewhere outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art<span>

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 16th

Tina Walters

"What in the world could Zach and Macey be doing that they can't turn on their comms unit?" Liz asked, obviously irritated.

Tina smiled mischievously. "Well Macey _is_ a pretty girl..."

"And Zach _can _be a douche bag..." Grant added suggestively.

"What are you two getting at?" Liz asked.

"Oh, you guys!" Bex laughed, interrupting before anyone could say anything. "Let's not corrupt Lizzie's mind."

Liz rolled her eyes and went back to checking if Zach's or Macey's comms were on. There was an abrupt change in the frequency of the static and then Macey's comms unit came to life.

"_Seriously, you and Kim?_" Macey's voice asked. "_I'm impressed; I didn't think you could get a girl like her._"

The door to the van opened and Kim climbed through, Jonas at her heels. They seemed to be arguing about something. "An ice cream truck? Out of all the different vehicle choices, you chose an ice cream truck?"

"Shh!" Bex hissed gesturing to the speakers. Kim rolled her eyes and Jonas muttered an apology.

"_Kim and I were younger then. Besides, we broke up,_" they heard Zach mutter. Tina came to a conclusion that Zach did not know that Macey's comms were on, since he was willingly (sort of) discussing the matter with the senator's daughter. _That sneaky bitch,_ she thought mischievously before she turned her attention to Kim, who had an eyebrow raised.

"_Was that before or after you got arrested?_" Macey asked.

They heard Zach sigh. "_It was before._"

"_Okay,_" Macey said. "_Now, who is Joe Solomon?_"

Tina gave a questioning glance to the others, but they just shrugged.

"_Joe was my mentor, he taught me everything I know,_" Zach explained.

"_Oh, okay. Now on to the better question: who is Reign?_" Macey asked. Tina froze, Bex's jaw went slack, Jonas was wide-eyed, Kim suddenly became interested in the conversation, Liz turned away from her laptop to listen, and Grant shoved his ear closer to the speakers. "_I know he's your brother—that girl said so—but who is he? Is he a con?_"

"Girl? What girl?" Grant yelled to no one in particular. "Why do you have to be so damn cryptic?"

But Tina didn't care about the girl—whoever she was—she was more concerned about the problem at hand. She shared a worried look with Jonas, because like her, Jonas knew that family was off limits to Zach, especially family members like Reign Goode.

Tina remembered Reign as a handsome, often rude, ambitious, thief, whose ultimate goal in life is to win at everything. He was two years older than both, Zach and Tina, making him 24 years-old, turning 25, with dark hair, amber eyes, broad shoulders, and that charming smile everyone in their family seemed to be born with.

"_He's a thief, yes,_" Zach's voice finally came through in a tight tone, "_and a good one at that_."

And then it became quiet.

"Did Zach just willingly talk about Reign?" Bex asked after a few minutes.

Tina just nodded dumbly.

"We are talking about the same Reign, right?"

Tina nodded...again.

"Are you sure? Because no one—and I mean _no one_ ever talks about Reign Goode _willingly_."

"Well maybe he's changed," Liz suggested hopefully.

"People like Reign Goode do not change," Jonas scoffed. "He put an apple on top of my head and then shot it with an arrow. _A real arrow!_"

"Who cares about apples, man?" Grant sighed exasperatedly. "That guy almost ruined my sex life!"

Kim scowled. "Can we please stop talking about Reign?"

For a while they sat there in silence as everyone returned to what they were originally doing, from listening to the comms feed to planning exit routes (for extra precautions). Then Grant gave a loud sigh, breaking the silence.

"Fuck, I need to take a piss!" he hissed.

"Well don't take it here," Liz muttered, her eyes still trained on her laptop.

Grant pouted. "But I really gotta pee! If I don't pee, my bladder will explode and you'll all be soaked—"

"Too much information!" Kim shrieked and Tina sniggered. "Go in the museum and pee already before we all end up drowning in your urine!"

Grant sighed again and began rummaging through a box of disguises. Pulling on a dark wig and a suspicious looking moustache, he turned to Jonas. "Can't risk getting recognized, right? How do I look?"

"You look like a pedophile," Jonas said.

"I do not!" Grant protested and Tina fought the urge to tell him he did. "And I am not!"

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 16th

Zachary Goode

It was half an hour after Zach and Macey entered the museum when Zach finally turned his comms unit on.

"_About time!_" Liz's voice was loud and clear in his right ear. "_Where have you been?_"

"Hello to you too, Elizabeth," Zach said casually.

"_Are you with Macey?_" Liz asked.

"No," Zach said. "She's with Cameron. You remember her, don't you Liz?"

"_Cameron?_" it was Tina's turn to question Zach and Zach winced as her voice blasted through the comms unit. "_As in Cameron Morgan? Zach, are insane? That chick hates you! Get out of there!_"

"Tina, Tina, Tina," Zach shook his head, strolling over to where Macey and Cameron were talking. "Why so pessimistic?"

"_I'm not pessimistic,_" Tina spat, "_I'm realistic! Let's not forget the last encounter you had with her! She called the cops on you and you almost got arrested._"

"But I _didn't_ get arrested," he said, and then added, "then."

"_Yes, but Reign and Joe were there to save your ass! They're not here today, Zach!_"

Zach wrinkled his nose in distaste. He was not in the mood to get lectured at the moment, and especially not by Tina Walters, of all people! With a roll of his eyes he opened his mouth to give a reply. "Whatever. Just make sure everyone's ready, okay?" he said in a tone that signalled the end of the conversation. Tine huffed indignantly but obliged.

"Hello Ladies," Zach approached Macey and Cameron.

"Hi _Charles_," Macey greeted and Cameron gave a curt nod before excusing herself, but not before giving Zach a final glare.

"So what did she say about me?" he asked.

"She doesn't trust you," Macey replied. "I don't blame her. After all, you're the main suspect in the disappearance of an emerald that originally belonged to her family."

"How did you know about that?" Zach asked, secretly counting how much vents there are in the gallery: 5.

Macey shrugged, her eyes scanning the amount of guards in the gallery: 15. "You get to know a person," she said, being the epitome of calmness. "So how exactly did you take the emerald?"

"Pulling a simple _Hangover_ did the trick," Zach smirked. "We even brought a tiger into the job. It was classic." Zach watched the exhibit. Everyone was gushing over everything.

"I don't doubt it," Macey said, finally meeting Zach's eyes. Taking Macey's elbow, Zach led them to _the_ painting. It was a Monet. The Water Lilies, to be exact. Or at least one of the few Water Lilies.

"That's it?" Macey said, slightly disappointed. "Someone will pay forty-two million dollars for that?"

Zach frowned at her lack of enthusiasm. "That's _it_? _That's it_? That's all you can say? It's a masterpiece...or one part of a masterpiece!" he said pointing at the painting. It was cased inside bullet-proof, drill proof glass. _Jonas was right,_ he thought.

"Okay whatever," Macey said and the she frowned. "Are sure today's the day, Charles? I don't have a good feeling about this..."

Zach wanted to agree with Macey; something told him today won't go the way he planned, but he also knew that this was his only chance to take the painting and make a run for it. "I'm sure."

"Well it's your call," Macey said.

Zach nodded and whispered into his comms. "It's time."

Time seemed to slow down after Zach uttered those two words, but only he noticed. Zach looked to his side, to find Macey was gone. Her job was done, there was nothing more for her to do and Zach knew that. Zach also knew that at this moment, his crew were probably crawling around the vents, on their way into the gallery. Tina would be holding an exact replica of the painting and Grant would be preparing the distractions.

Zach was vaguely aware of the thick smoke (a special thanks to Fernando for supplying the smoke machine) that was beginning to fill the room, but it wasn't until someone bumped into him that he finally snapped back to the real world. Noticing the panic that has dawned on everyone, the guards, who were leading everyone out of the gallery, the alarm that blared through the entire building, and the arrival of Tina, Kim, and—Zach shook his head. Someone was missing.

"Where's Bex?" Zach asked, his eyes searching for the girls as the smoke thickened.

"How am I supposed to know?" Kim asked.

"You're her partner; you're supposed to know—"

"Um, you guys?" Tina called.

"What is it?"

"A little help here!" Tina grunted.

"What are you even—"

There, Tina stood clutching the real painting for dear life as a hooded figure tried to take it from her grasp. Zach suddenly felt cold, and for a moment, he was almost ready to go back to jail. He snapped out of his thoughts just in time to hear Tina's shrill scream as she landed face forward on the ground.

The painting and whoever held it was getting away.

"_Guys!_" Liz's voice rang in Zach's ears. "_You're not alone in there. You have to get out of there. Now!_" she warned, but no one listened. Together, the three of them ran for the hooded figure.

"You know my mom always said I never thought things through," Tina said, waving her hand around her to get rid of the smoke, the replica no longer in her hands. "I never believed her 'till today."

"Grant where are you?" Zach yelled through his comms.

There was a loud thud and their heads swivelled to see Grant tackle the hooded man. "Right here," he grunted.

The man threw a punch a Grant, but Grant ducked out of the way. Running over to help Grant, Zach instructed Kim and Tina to get the real painting.

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 16th

Tina Walters

Tina and Kim searched frantically for the painting, but it was no use. It seemed the painting had disappeared. Eyes darting everywhere, a glint caught Tina's eye. There, across the room, a girl decked in all black pushed the painting through the vent before entering it herself. Tina ran as fast as she could, but the girl simply smirked at her and closed the vent. Then she heard something loud that sounded a lot like a gun firing.

Frantic, Tina searched the room. The smoke was starting to clear up and Liz's voice was blaring in her ear, telling them to leave already. Her eyes landed on Zach who was still struggling with the man. She looked over at Grant, who clutched his bloody arm, and then back to Zach and the man, but to her disappointment, the man was gone.

"Where is he?" Tina asked, hysterical.

"I don't know!"

"Grant, are you okay?" Kim asked, but didn't wait for a reply as she dragged Grant and everyone else out of the gallery. "C'mon we have to get out of here!"

Crawling out of the ventilation system, Tina felt a number of feelings surge through her. She felt confused, angry, and devastated, but angry for the most part. How dare those people hurt her friends? How dare those people con them when they were the ones who are supposed to be doing the conning? And where was Bex the entire time? Tina wanted to punch someone, but instead, she settled for sulking in their ice cream truck as they drove home.

Location: Kim's Apartment

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 16th

Liz Sutton

Liz sat down after scolding her brother for his immature behaviour and for getting shot in the process. After they drove from the museum, they decided to crash at Kim's place. Tina was in the kitchen, taking her anger out on cooking, Zach and Macey were trying to calm her down, Kim was getting Grant's arm fixed up, and Jonas was looking distastefully at something in his hands, his dark hair fell over his eyes, and his face held a look that Liz was quite familiar with. He was thinking. Raising an eyebrow, Liz scooted over to sit next to him, she asked, "What's that?"

Jonas looked up, startled, but then he smiled. "Something Zach took from the _others_," he said the word 'others' with extra emphasis. He held it up for her to see, it was a ring with a simple design on it of the letter _C._ Liz's eyes narrowed at the ring.

"I've seen that before," she said.

"What?" Jonas asked.

"That ring, I've seen it before."

"It's a letter _C_, Liz," Jonas said.

"I know that," Liz sighed, searching her brain for where she'd seen it. "But I've seen it before. I recognize it. It's from...from...oh, no. Bex has one of those!"

At the sound of Bex's name, everyone seemed to listen in, even Tina, Macey and Zach, who all left the kitchen to hear what Liz has to say. "That's the ring the Circle of Cavan gives to each member. I remember Bex telling me about it."

"That little bitch!" Kim spat. "I _knew_ she was up to something and none of you listened to me. She must have sold us off for her freedom."

"No, she wouldn't do that... Would she?" Liz shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe here! I knew she was in trouble, but I didn't think she'd do this to us!" she exclaimed, feeling the tears form in her eyes and she vaguely wished that Jonas would comfort her like he used to, but sadly, he didn't.

"What's the Circle of Cavan and why is Bex working with them?" Macey asked, utterly confused.

"The Circle of Cavan is a mob, and like I said Bex must have used us to plan the heist and do the dirty work so that her pretty little friends wouldn't have to," Kim said.

"But why would she do that?"

"Because she has a debt going on with the Circle, and this was probably the only way she could pay them back."

"So you're saying Bex was working with the Circle the whole time she was with us?" Macey asked.

Liz shrugged. "There's only one way to find out."

"That is?"

"We need to find Bex."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"I can take care of that," Grant smiled. Liz raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. "I know people, okay?

"Of course you do."

Location: Grant's Apartment Building

Brooklyn, New York City

Date: Sunday, July 18th

Grant Newman

"Is everyone here?" Grant asked as he scanned the crowd.

There was Dillon Jones and Mick Morrison, they were ID makers. Fernando Alvarez and his daughter Eva Alvarez were there too; their family is very well known in the black market. Courtney Bauer, who comes from a highly respected family of thieves, was there with Anna Fetterman, who is a master of disguise. Joe Solomon (a legend) was there with Mr. Smith (no one knows his first name, but he knows people in high places). Dr. Fibbs, the man who taught Tina everything she knows, stood in a corner looking very fidgety (typical). And much to everyone's surprise, Reign Goode also came.

"Reign's here," Jonas whispered to Kim.

"Color me surprised," she drawled.

"What did you bring us here for, Grant?" Dillon asked and Grant fought the urge to grab the nearest lamp and throw it at the shorter boy's face. "You know we all have better things to do."

"We need to find Bex Baxter," Grant said. "More importantly, we need information on the Circle of Cavan."

Suddenly, the apartment felt too small to hold such amount of people and everyone began to talk over one another. Grant was absolutely terrified.

"Grant why do you need information on the Circle?" Joe asked and everyone became silent. "Mobs are not something we like to mess with." There was a murmur of agreement.

Grant gulped not knowing what to say. Should he start with the fact that one of their closest friends turned their back on them, or should he lie about it and save himself from humiliation? "We got..." he murmured the last part fearing for dear life.

"What was that?" someone yelled.

Grant took a deep breath. "Wegotconned," he said quickly.

"Huh?"

"_We got conned,_ okay?"

Everyone went still and for a second, Grant's hopes fell. Then Reign Goode spoke up: "Why should we help you?"

"Because it won't be long until _you're_ the ones who get conned," Zach said.

Reign and Zach locked eyes and Grant swore he felt the tension increase. Reign gave Zach a knowing smirk. "Then what do you need, brother?"

Location: Kim's Apartment

Manhattan, New York City

Date: Saturday, July 18th

Jonas Kim

"What's wrong with her?" Reign asked, pointing a finger in Tina's direction.

Jonas jumped back, startled that Reign was actually speaking to him. "She has a terrible case of I-want-to-punch-Bex-in-the-face-itis," Jonas said, turning to leave before Reign could say any more.

Walking over to where Kim and Macey sat, Jonas took a seat next to his sister.

"You never said he was hot!" Macey hissed and Kim rolled her eyes in response.

"He's also an arrogant ass," Kim said. "But hey, if that's what you're into..."

"Whatever." Macey scowled.

"Anyways," Jonas said eager to change the subject. "Have you guys seen Grant?"

"He's in the kitchen," Kim said distastefully. "His supersonic nose—not ears; not even eyes eyes—led him to the left-over pork chop in my fridge."

As if on cue, Grant sauntered into the room, looking like the cat that got the cream. He gave Jonas an award-winning smile before his eyes wandered in Reign's direction. Taking a seat next to Jonas, Grant opened his mouth to speak. "Look at him, looking all smug with his designer clothing and his nice hair. God, I hate his nice hair. I mean, who the hell has hair that _fluffy_? It's virtually impossible."

Jonas nodded in agreement. "I hate that guy."

Grant swivels to face him and grabs his shoulders. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I am _so_ glad we share so many feelings."

Jonas felt his cheeks heat up when he realized what Grant was getting at. Grant scowled. "I told you not to take it the wrong way, Jo!" he snapped. "What the fuck is wrong with you? We're not that kind of friends!"

"I'm sorry."

Liz, who happened to pass by as the scene unfolded, rolled her eyes. "Behave, you two," she instructed. She walked over to Reign. "Hi Reign," she said rather stiffly.

"Hello Elizabeth." Reign dusted off the nonexistent dust off his designer jacket. "So, what exactly is the plan?"

Liz gave a hollow laugh, much to Jonas' delight. "Slow down, Reign. We know how you work; you'll only help us if we do something for you in return. So what do you need?" Her voice was soft, yet she appeared confident and almost smug (in a Liz-esque sort of way, of course) in the presence of Reign Goode.

A small smirk played on Reign's lips and Jonas could only come up with one conclusion: this won't end well.

"I have some ideas," he said.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: i have no excuses for my horrible updating. but, you know, sorry. <strong>

**leave me a review, they really help with motivations and all that fun stuff that make me want to update more. **

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**oh, and let me know if there are any grammar/spelling errors. i proof read it, but i can't always see _every_ mistake.**

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**-Ciara**


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